Chalk Rouge, 1865

Back into the Victorian make-up experiments, with some marginally more successful rouge. This recipe is the simplest one I've found so far, from the Handbook for Ladies' Maid (London, 1865). 

CHALK ROUGES Take one drachm of finely powdered carmine and powdered chalk five drachms. Mix. This is one of the opaque rouges, the recipe of which we give because of its simplicity. We do not recommend it. --The Handbook for Ladies' Maids and Guide to the Toilette (1865)

As promised, it is very straightforward: 1 part powdered carmine to 5 parts powdered chalk. I did not try to make my own carmine from cochineal this time, so it was considerably more successful than previous attempts at this style of rouge.

Carmine + chalk = rouge.

Despite the ominous note of "we do not recommend it", I found the recipe straightforward, and the color quite bright.  While the rouge is fairly obvious on my skin, it doesn't have the thickly-painted-on aspect that I expected--and can probably be made to look more natural with careful application and practice. The simple recipe makes it easy to adjust the shade with more or less chalk to get a lighter pink or darker red. A very small amount of the rouge imparts a lot of color, so it is easy to over-apply.

The rouge (above) and the pure carmine (below).

This chalk-based rouge has a tendency to get everywhere, so a peignoir or kerchief of some sort is recommended. Also, use towels you don't like to remove the excess from your hands/brush/general vicinity. Even opening the jar spread traces of brightly colored chalk around the hands, so care is needed to avoid staining clothes and hands. The rouge is easily transferred between surfaces, but some moderate scrubbing with soap and water is needed to fully remove it from the skin. If you wore this out in the rain, it'd probably make a pink mess on your face and collar.